Good Pop, Bad Pop: An Inventory by Jarvis Cocker

Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Times bestselling memoir, Good Pop, Bad Pop, offers a wonderfully unique and insightful journey through a life less ordinary, not through a traditional chronological narrative, but via the fascinating detritus unearthed from his loft. As the Sunday Times rightly declares, "It's real gold... its storytelling first class."

Cocker poses a compelling question: what if the things we keep hidden reveal more about our true selves than those we consciously display? We all accumulate a random assortment of objects that have shaped us – photographs, ticket stubs, discarded clothes, cherished souvenirs – often crammed into boxes, suitcases, or forgotten drawers. When Cocker embarks on the task of clearing out his loft, he stumbles upon a jumble of these very items, each one a tangible fragment of his personal history, prompting a series of probing and often humorous self-inquiries: Who do you think you are? Are clothes truly important? And why the inordinate number of broken spectacles?

From a humble Gold Star polycotton shirt to a well-chewed pack of Wrigley's Extra, from his teenage stabs at songwriting to the dubious delights of the Sexy Laughs Fantastic Dirty Joke Book, this is the tangible evidence of Cocker's singular life, his pivotal role in Pulp, the ever-evolving landscape of 20th-century pop culture, the moments of pure joy, and the inevitable mistakes he'd perhaps rather leave buried under the attic dust.

This isn't presented as a conventional autobiography; instead, it unfolds as a captivating "loft story," where each found object acts as a portal into a specific memory, a particular era, or a recurring theme in Cocker's life. The result is a nostalgic, playful, and beautifully designed book, as lauded by the Daily Mail. It's a brilliant and luridly entertaining read, according to the Daily Telegraph, and the Guardian finds it terrific and very funny. Through this unconventional approach, Cocker offers a refreshingly honest and deeply personal exploration of identity, memory, and the surprising significance of the seemingly mundane objects that accumulate around us.

"It's real gold... its storytelling first class" - Sunday Times

"Nostalgic, playful and beautifully designed" - Daily Mail

"Brilliant...lurid, entertaining" - Daily Telegraph

"Terrific... Very funny" - Guardian

A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail and Uncut